Details Emerge On Why Odom Is No Longer A Maverick

Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Reality Rocks(DALLAS) — After the dust settled in the divorce between the Dallas Mavericks and veteran forward Lamar Odom, more information has emerged as to just why Odom’s time in Dallas ended prematurely.

During halftime of his final game as a Maverick, against the Grizzlies last weekend, Odom and team owner Mark Cuban got into a heated exchage in the visitor’s locker room in Memphis. Odom was reportedly late to the team’s Friday game against the Portland Trail Blazers and a Saturday-morning meeting in Memphis. Those events were deemed as the final straw and the team’s frustration with Odom reached a new level.

Cuban confirmed that he confronted Odom and asked him if he still was commited to basketball as well as the team.

“Well yeah,” Cuban answered when asked if the exchange was the breaking point between the team and Odom. “Just his response to it. Everybody goes through ups and downs. Every player does. We tried to put him in a position to succeed. You guys saw it, saw what we did. It didn’t work.”

“And I just asked him, does he want to go for it or not? Is he in or his he out? I think he thought we were playing poker. I just didn’t get a commitment. And that was the end.”

The Mavericks still must pay the remainder of Odom’s $8.9 million salary this season.